About 39% of crude oil production and 49% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico were shut on Wednesday as hurricane Francine barreled toward the Louisiana coast, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said.
Francine was moving northeast with maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour (150 kph) and expected to hit the Louisiana coast by evening, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Offshore producers have shut in nearly 675,000 barrels per day of oil and 907 million cubic feet of natural gas production, the regulator reported. There were 171 platforms evacuated, or 46% of the offshore total, BSEE said.
The U.S. Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 15% of all domestic oil production and 2% of natural gas output, according to federal data.
(Reuters - Reporting by Anjana Anil; Editing by Chris Reese and Mark Porter)